TELEVISION PRODUCER OF "THE TORTURE TRAIL" UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
The British Ministry of Defence Police has opened a criminal investigation against Martyn Gregory, producer of "The Torture Trail", a programme broadcasted by the private British TV company, Channel 4. The programme exposed the involvement of the British Government and British companies in exporting electro-shock weapons which could be used for torture (see FECL No.31: "Electro-shock weapons: the 'torture trail'").
In late June, Mr Gregory was interviewed under caution by Ministry of Defense Police alleging breach of the Firearms Act and incitement of others to do so. At the same time, three MPs, including the then President of the Board of Trade (DTI) and acting Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine, contended in letters that Mr Gregory's film was "scaremongering" and made "false" or "contrived" allegations against British Aerospace and others.
On 26 July, Ann Clywd, MP, and others put down a motion in Parliament in support of Mr Gregory. The motion notes that "The Torture Trail" recently won Amnesty International's 1995 award for best television documentary, and expresses indignation over the fact "that the Ministry of Defence Police have now made Mr Gregory the target of a criminal investigation".
Following the accusations against him, Mr. Gregory commenced proceedings against the DTI and Mr Heseltine. Commenting on his action, Mr Gregory said that "The Torture Trail" was an honest investigation that revealed the British contribution to the very disturbing trade in torture weapons. "I was surprised to find that the British Government and British companies were involved in the torture trade, and extremely disappointed that the Government has tried to discredit the programme. This is why I have taken action in the High Court against Michael Heseltine and the DTI. How can the Government justify spending thousands of pounds investiga-ting me as the journalist who exposed the trade in electro-shock weapons, while they have yet to bring any of the traders in weapons of torture to justice?"
Mr Gregory's solicitor, Geoffrey Bindman, commented that his client deserved "high praise for exposing a disreputable trade. For Government Ministers to hound the messenger instead of heeding the message is a disgraceful misuse of their power".
In the meantime, Mr Gregory has won his libel case against the DTI, but the Ministry of Defence's case against the journalist is still pending.
Source: OMEGA Foundation (Manchester, UK)Comment
The action against Martyn Gregory confirms the well-established rule, that when national armament industry is at stake, governments tend to act against the "traitors" who reveal unlawful and/or morally repugnant schemes of this industry of "national interest", rather than against the wrong-doings revealed.
In 1931, the renowned German journalist and editor, Carl von Ossietzky, was sentenced to imprisonment for high treason, because he had published an article in his magazine, Die Weltbühne , that revealed Germany's secretive and illegal efforts to rebuild its air force under the cover of an alleged civilian aviation programme. In 1934, Ossietkzy was transferred to a concentration camp by the Nazi regime, where he died in 1938, after having been awarded the Nobel prize. Two years ago, Germany's highest Court rejected a petition demanding the rehabilitation of Ossietzky.
In Israel, a nuclear technician, Mordechai Vanunu, has been in jail since 1986 for having exposed this country's nuclear weapons project.
Britain, a country with a long democratic tradition and living in a state of peace, can not be compared neither with Germany in the 30s nor with the "front state" Israel. Even if Martyn Gregory should actually be tried for breach of the Firearms Act, a sentence is unlikely to be high, although the offence carries a maximum of five years sentence. Nevertheless, the British Government's treatment of a "disagreeable" journalist calls forth unpleasant memories and once again highlights a notorious disrespect of state powers for journalists' duty to monitor government.
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